UPSC Prelims 2024 Q74: Parts IXA, XVIII and XX of the Constitution

Which of the following statements are correct about the Constitution of India?

1. Powers of the Municipalities are given in Part IX A of the Constitution.

2. Emergency provisions are given in Part XVIII of the Constitution.

3. Provisions related to the amendment of the Constitution are given in Part XX of the Constitution.

Select the answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: correct — Part IX A, titled 'The Municipalities', covers Articles 243P to 243ZG. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 added it. Article 243W sits in this Part and deals with the 'Powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities'. Under it, State Legislatures may give municipalities powers to plan and carry out schemes, including on the 18 matters in the Twelfth Schedule.
  • 2: correct — Part XVIII, titled 'Emergency Provisions', runs from Article 352 to Article 360. It covers national emergency (Article 352), failure of constitutional machinery in a State, commonly called President's Rule (Article 356), and financial emergency (Article 360).
  • 3: correct — Part XX, titled 'Amendment of the Constitution', has only one article: Article 368. That article gives Parliament the power to amend the Constitution and sets the procedure. Some amendments also need ratification by at least half of the State Legislatures.

How to eliminate

This question has no absolute words or other tricks to work with. You can only solve it by knowing which Part holds which provisions, but the option structure helps. Statement 2 is the easiest of the three, because Emergency in Part XVIII (Articles 352–360) is standard polity knowledge. Knowing it removes the one option without statement 2. If you also know that Article 368 is the whole of Part XX, you are left with two options, and the choice comes down to statement 1. Statement 1 is the trap. Aspirants mix up Parts IX, IX A and IX B. Remember them in order of the amendments: IX = Panchayats (73rd Amendment), IX A = Municipalities (74th Amendment), IX B = Co-operative Societies (97th Amendment). Article 243W, on municipal powers, sits inside Part IX A.

Know more

The 'A' and 'B' Parts and the Parts at the end of the Constitution

Amendments added new Parts without renumbering the old ones, so letter suffixes appeared. The local-government Parts sit together:

Part Title Articles Added by
IX The Panchayats 243–243O 73rd Amendment, 1992
IX A The Municipalities 243P–243ZG 74th Amendment, 1992
IX B The Co-operative Societies 243ZH–243ZT 97th Amendment, 2011

Part IX A sets up three kinds of municipality: Nagar Panchayats for areas changing from rural to urban, Municipal Councils for smaller urban areas and Municipal Corporations for larger ones. It also covers reservation of seats, including one-third for women (243T), a five-year term (243U), powers (243W), the State Finance Commission review (243Y), State Election Commissions (243ZA), District Planning Committees (243ZD) and Metropolitan Planning Committees (243ZE). Article 243ZC keeps Part IX A out of Scheduled Areas unless Parliament extends it. The Twelfth Schedule lists 18 municipal subjects. The Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects for panchayats.

The Parts at the end of the Constitution are also tested:

Part Subject Articles
XVIII Emergency Provisions 352–360
XIX Miscellaneous 361–367
XX Amendment of the Constitution 368
XXI Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions 369–392
XXII Short title, commencement, authoritative text in Hindi and repeals 393–395

Part XVIII provides for three kinds of emergency: national (Art. 352), State (Art. 356) and financial (Art. 360). The 44th Amendment, 1978 replaced 'internal disturbance' with 'armed rebellion' as a ground under Article 352. Part XX is a single article. In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court held that Article 368 cannot be used to destroy the Constitution's basic structure.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • Urban local bodies: Statement 1 is about where the Constitution places the powers of urban local bodies such as municipal councils and corporations.
  • 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992: The 73rd Amendment created the Part for panchayats. Telling it apart from the urban-body Part is the key to Statement 1.
  • State Finance Commission: Article 243Y has the State Finance Commission review municipal finances. This shows which Part the municipal provisions belong to.

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